Now when so much technology innovation is erupting is definitely not the time for fear of failure or status quo. Artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things are destined to impact business globally, and those who don't proactively manage for the future will miss out.

What business sectors will be impacted the most by emerging technologies? The media sector leads the list, and clearly it is being disrupted with video, livestreaming, social media, news websites and AI-empowered news curation. Next in line as facing the most disruption is automotive/transportation with the advent of electric vehicles, hyperloops and ride-sharing. Consumer markets and retail were also highlighted by the survey as in for a big change with the growth of mobile commerce and mobile payments coupled with technology-driven retail stores and speedy deliveries. Education was the third sector identified, as coursework comes online and privately funded startups and newly public companies transform tutoring.

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba was named as the top company that could disrupt their company by business leaders surveyed. With Alibaba moving into so many aspects of business, from payments to logistics to finance, this is probably not a surprise -- although it is the first time that a Chinese company has been recognized in such a power position by this report.

The big four of the U.S. Internet were highlighted as well: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google or the FANGs, as they're known. It is quite significant to note that there's a big gap between Alibaba and next in line Facebook in the ratings. Tesla also made the list of top disruptors as did India's e-commerce company FlipKart.

Another interesting finding from the survey identifies regulation as the leading restraint on innovation, again not a surprise given that many policies are in state of flux.

The 2018 report was published by KPMG in two parts, with myself as a contributing writer. The first section was released in March, and covered here: Shanghai Shines Again. The second part, titled Tech Disruptors Outpace the Competition was released last week, and can be downloaded here. Disruptive Alibaba.